Executive Director Brittany Hall has led a transformation of the nonprofit organization's business model.

Chris Kocher / Staff video

After a two-year search, the Binghamton Philharmonic has chosen its new music director and conductor, but he's already a familiar face to local fans of classical music.

Daniel Hege, who has served as the orchestra's principal guest conductor for the past two seasons, will assume the job permanently, the philharmonic announced Wednesday.

Daniel Hege, the new music director and conductor of the Binghamton Philharmonic, leads musicians ...more

Daniel Hege, the new music director and conductor of the Binghamton Philharmonic, leads musicians during rehearsal at The Forum on May 3.

Kate Collins / Staff photo

The Colorado native — who now calls Syracuse home — served as the music director for the now-defunct Syracuse Symphony for 11 seasons, and he is currently the conductor of the Wichita Symphony (a job he will retain alongside his role in Binghamton). He also has worked as a guest conductor from Seattle and San Diego to Omaha and Puerto Rico as well as all points in between.

Growing up on a farm, his was not a particularly musical household — his father sang in the church choir, but that was about it. At 9 years old, Hege found himself attracted to the stack of classical and jazz LPs that his family owned — specifically a recording of Glenn Gould playing Bach’s “Goldberg Variations.”

That early exposure blossomed into studying the oboe and, later, conducting. He received his bachelor of arts degree in 1987 from Bethel College in Kansas, where he majored in music and history. He continued his studies at the University of Utah, where he received a master of music degree in orchestra conducting, founded the University Chamber Orchestra and served as assistant conductor of the University Orchestra and music director of the Utah Singers.

In a recent interview, Hege discussed what it's been like learning about Binghamton's music audience and why why today's orchestras need to blur the lines between what's considered "classical" and "pops."

Daniel Hege, the new music director and conductor of the Binghamton Philharmonic, leads musicians ...more

Daniel Hege, the new music director and conductor of the Binghamton Philharmonic, leads musicians during rehearsal at The Forum on May 3.

Kate Collins / Staff photo

Q: What’s it like getting this job at the philharmonic?

HEGE: It’s a real honor and privilege. I’ve worked with the orchestra for a couple of years or more, and I’ve gotten to know members of the board of directors, and of course I know the staff really well and the musicians. I think we have a nice chemistry. I’ve gotten to know the audience as well, and I’ve spoken to them several times, both from the stage during the concerts and I’ve met with many of them afterward and on the street and so on. I feel like I have this connection to them already before this music director position even begins.

Q: You’ve been the principal guest conductor for two seasons now. Do you consider that to be the longest job interview ever?

HEGE:[laughs] It is sort of long, but when you look at these situations, it’s a completely understandable thing. A lot of times, orchestras will hire someone called the “music adviser,” and that person serves in a similar capacity where they can oversee certain artistic decisions that have to be made.

In this case, they also needed somebody to conduct the concerts — and since I’m practically local, just being in Syracuse, they thought it would be a nice fit to see how things would work out. They know I’m an experienced conductor, so they thought I could do the principal guest conducting and also do some of the things that a music adviser would do.

In a way, it’s like a long job interview, but I always knew there was going to be a regular search where they had other candidates, because that’s the way things should function, and I’m glad we went through that process.

Q: What do you think you’ve learned about the classical music audience in Binghamton in the last couple of years?

HEGE: For concerts in general, there’s a real appetite for wanting to hear live orchestral music, whether it’s pops or whether it’s classical. I also learned that they enjoy it more when a conductor or emcee speaks to them during the concert and lets them know a little something about the music, and hopefully can put a little bit of humor or some stories in there. I already formed a connection with them at those concerts.

Sometimes classical music can suffer from a sense that it’s “elite,” which is something I never thought. I came from a very humble background. I was on a farm from ages 9 to 17 or so. I think that people can come from any background, not knowing anything about music, and simply really appreciate it.

I believe that the appetite can really grow, even though it’s hardy right now, we have to keep working to let people know that classical music is relevant today — even though some of it is written 200 years ago, it has these timeless truths to it, and it can be very exciting and speak to us at any time.

Daniel Hege, the new music director and conductor of the Binghamton Philharmonic, leads musicians ...more

Daniel Hege, the new music director and conductor of the Binghamton Philharmonic, leads musicians during rehearsal at The Forum on May 3.

Kate Collins / Staff photo

Q: And many of the classical pieces by Bach or Mozart or Beethoven are ones that people know from various sources, whether it’s pop culture or commercials or osmosis. They’re so ingrained in our culture.

HEGE: I was just speaking to some sixth-grade boys today at Chenango Valley Middle School, and I played some of Mozart’s “Eine kleine Nachtmusik.” I said, “Raise your hand if you recognize this music,” and every hand in the class shot up. I asked how they knew the music, and one of them said it’s on a Jolly Ranchers commercial. So much of the great classical music is in these bite-sized pieces that are in so much of pop culture like commercials, TV shows and movies.

The other thing I said to those boys: “Why do you think that the people who were selling that product chose this music?” They could have chosen Kendrick Lamar or something that speaks to this younger generation. It’s because this music speaks to every generation. The person selling the product has a vested interest in getting it out there and being purchased, and the music that they use is a big decision.

That says something about the effect that great classical music has on our psyche, to be persuasive, to make us happy, to make pleasant and positive associations. If people would give classical music a chance, they would realize that.

Share This Gallery

Q: Do you have a particular philosophy when choosing music for a philharmonic season? How do you balance old favorites with contemporary pieces or lesser-known pieces from well-known composers?

HEGE: There are lots of variables when trying to create variety. Within a concert, there has to be variety — and also within a season, from a 10,000-foot aerial view. Then if you want to go back 10,000 feet, over several years we should be cycling in this unusual thing or this very familiar thing.

When people go out to experience a concert, it has to be something that’s not monochromatic. We strive to do that all the time.

You also have to do something that’s interesting for the orchestra to play. So many of them have played the same kinds of pieces over and over. Of course, you can play these pieces that have been played many times and keep breathing new life into them. It’s inexhaustible how you can keep finding great truths in old music.

If you step back for a moment and think about anywhere from 40 to 80 to 100 musicians — however many are on the stage at that moment — are playing a piece and breathing life into it at that moment all in synchronization with each other. Sometimes we take it for granted, but in my eyes and for others, music don’t truly exist unless it’s being played right then.

In a recording, you’re hearing the music, but that’s more analogous to a photo of when you were in Hawaii. You go to Hawaii, you take a photograph, and then when you come back to Binghamton, you look at that picture and it brings back all the familiar sights, sounds and memories, but it’s not the same as sitting in Hawaii.

Recording is very similar in that way. It’s a frozen performance — just a memory that was taken down onto a disc or some other electronic medium and stored. You can go back and reference it, and it will never change. Live music has that possibility that it would be much better, or something strange could happen. Some people like that possibility of a train wreck, and that is part of the thrill.

Daniel Hege, the new music director and conductor of the Binghamton Philharmonic, leads musicians ...more

Daniel Hege, the new music director and conductor of the Binghamton Philharmonic, leads musicians during rehearsal at The Forum on May 3.

Kate Collins / Staff photo

Q: There is a definitely an excitement to be able to watch that and realize you’re in the same room where this is happening — whether it’s a philharmonic, a band, a chorus.

HEGE: It’s the communal aspect of the audience being there. They’re experiencing something that’s incredibly independent, one from another, but you’re having that experience together as a community at the same time. That’s something you don’t get when you’re in your car or at home with one or two other people listening.

HEGE: What we have to think about is how to engage people in the [concert] hall. A lot of times, culture seems to be going for things that are so visually driven. Sometimes an orchestra can’t compete with that in its traditional way that it’s always done concerts. When you bring in a more popular element — for example, cirque where you have acrobats going on when classical music is being played — it’s a way for people to be more engaged and think, “Wow, I knew that music, and I was having a feast for the eyes as well.” If you can bring it together, you may draw in more people.

It’s also important between what is really pops and classical. If you hear classical music in a popular setting, like how classical music pieces are used in pop culture, we start to blur the lines. As time goes on, there are fewer and fewer people who are interested in making these very clear distinctions between things: “Oh, that’s classical music and this is popular music.” We don’t always have to have labels or categories.

I remember listening to one conductor speak about old music versus new music, and he said: “We don’t have to talk about that. We talk about good music and bad music — those are the categories.” If it’s good music, it could be something by the Beatles or Bach or Beethoven. If it’s bad music … we won’t name any names. [laughs]

If it’s good music, the people are going to respond to it. That’s more how we should be thinking about it if we’re going to give a complete experience when they come into the hall.

The Binghamton Philharmonic's "May the Fourth" concert in honor of "Star Wars" last year proved to ...more

The Binghamton Philharmonic's "May the Fourth" concert in honor of "Star Wars" last year proved to be a sold-out success.

Photo by Kathryn Fletcher

Q: Are concerts like Cirque Musica and “Star Wars” a way to bring in newer or younger listeners who may not have seen a live philharmonic before?

HEGE: It’s a great way to bring in new people, and it’s also a way to retain people who love classical music. I’m a classical music lover — obviously, it’s my profession — but I also enjoy the music of John Williams so much. His film music was some of the first music I listened to as a kid. Of course, I got under the spell of Brahms and Beethoven and Mozart and Schubert and all of the others, but John Williams’ film music is so dramatic and so exciting and effective. People who love classical music could also come in to hear a John Williams program.

Is it so important that you say, “Well, that’s film music — that’s not classical music”? It doesn’t really matter, does it? If you’re enjoying it and it’s orchestral music and it works and is effective, why is it so important to make such distinctions?

Q: You’re taking on this role at the Binghamton Philharmonic while remaining the music director at the Wichita Symphony. That seems to be what a lot of conductors do, but how tricky is that to balance?

HEGE: The most important thing is to get the calendars out for the future, a year or two in advance, and start to work closely on those calendars.

Sometimes the orchestras will speak directly to each other. Sometimes you go through a middle person — I have a manager and she helps to coordinate those schedules. It usually works fine — you just have to work far enough in advance to iron it all out.

Musicians in the Binghamton Philharmonic rehearse at The Forum on May 3.

Musicians in the Binghamton Philharmonic rehearse at The Forum on May 3.

Kate Collins / Staff photo

Q: Is there any room for cooperation between the orchestras now that you’re going to be the conductor for both of them?

HEGE: The cooperation sometimes happens if I do something in Binghamton that was a big hit. I’ll say, “We should try this in Wichita — these are the things that worked so well and let’s try to incorporate those.” Of course, a lot of times what works in one location doesn’t always translate into working so well in another location. Sometimes it’s the taste of the audience or the technology you have available to you — you have to adapt one way or another.

Or if I know a guest artist that I worked with in, say, Wichita, and I like that guest artist, we already have a relationship now, and I say, “We should bring that guest artist to Binghamton, because they would really hit it off there.”

Behind the scenes, it can be sharing parts for the library or scores or something like that. Orchestras will do it because they trust the music director who is in both places, so that connectivity can be useful and beneficial.

Outside The Forum, home of the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra, on May 3, 2018.

Outside The Forum, home of the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra, on May 3, 2018.

Kate Collins / Staff photo

Q: What do you see as an orchestra’s role in the community?

HEGE: The role of an orchestra in the community is to truly serve that community. That means being useful to the people who don’t even attend the concerts. You have patrons who want to come for the music, and that’s great — you’re playing for them in the concerts — but you have to have a value added beyond that.

Communities that have an orchestra is a sign that you’ve arrived — it shows that you value things of high quality. If you have a great art museum, if you have an opera company, if you have really good schools, if you have beautiful parks, it shows that you have a certain pride in the community and it shows that you’re interested in attracting people who have like minds — usually well-educated people who want to experience something after 5 p.m. that’s not just sitting at home. They want to further their horizons, they’re curious, they want to be entertained, they want to be ennobled.

You want to attract those people, so having a symphony orchestra is important for a city even if you don’t attend the concerts. I’ve talked to people who say, “I’m not really into that kind of music, but it should definitely be here and I’m going to support it.”

A symphony orchestra can enrich us. It’s a cultural jewel, as the Binghamton Philharmonic is to this area. We get high-quality professional musicians who come in to play. We have a great staff, we have a great board, and we have a wonderful audience that we just want to grow and grow and grow.

March 14: The Beatles Classical Mystery Tour (Also March 13 at State Theatre of Ithaca)

March 23: "Wagner's 'Ring Cycle' in One Night"

May 11: "Ballet Music"

This season

On May 19 at the Forum, see Daniel Hege conduct the finale concert for the Binghamton Philharmonic's 2017-18 season, "Tchaikovsky 5," featuring Tchaikovsky's fifth symphony as well as Beethoven's "Egmont Overture" and Haydn's "Trumpet Concerto." For more information, go online to binghamtonphilharmonic.org.